Bridge-dam.



s. A. VANGIL.

BRIDGE DAM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18, 1810.

Patented Nov. 1,1910.

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wwnmoao S. A. VANGIL.

BRIDGE DAM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18, 1910.

SAMUEL ARTHER VANCIL, OF GREENWAY, ARKANSAS.

BRIDGE-DAM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Application filed August 18, 1910. Serial No. 577,770.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL An'rnnn YA NoIL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residm at Greenway, in the county of Clay and tate of Arkansas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bridge- Dams; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichitappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in dams.

One object of the invention is to provide a combined bridge and damadapted to be built across a stream whereby the latter at high waterwill be spread out so that when passing over the dam the stream will bebroad and shallow thus permitting the same to be readily forded.

Another object is to provide a dam having means whereby the stream underordinary circumstances will be permitted to pass through the dam, saidmeans also assisting in carrying off the water during a freshet when thestream overflows the dam.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists ofcertain novel features of construction, combination and arran ement ofparts as will be more fully descri ed and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved damshowing the same arranged across a stream; Fig. 2 is a vertical lonitudinal section through the dam and bed 0 the stream; Fig. 3 is avertical cross section of the same.

In carrying out the invention the bed of the stream across which the damis to be built is widened as at a, the natural banks or width of thestream above and below the dam being shown at b. At a suitable pointacross the widened portion of the stream bed is built a concrete wall 1,the lower edge of which curves downwardly and corresponds with thecurvature of the bed of the stream and is preferably set into theopposite banks whereby the wall is held or anchored at its ends. Thewall 1 curves upwardly at its opposite ends as shown at c to form agradual rise from the main portion of the wall to the top of the banks.The intermediate portion of the upper edge of the wall is comparativelylevel as shown.

Arranged in the bed of the stream below the wall is a series of piles orsupporting posts 2 which are spaced a suitable distance apart and havetheir upper ends engaged with or set into the lower edge of the wallwhereby a firm sup ort or foundation is provided for the wa 1. At asuitable distance above the main wall 1 of the dam is arranged a secondcement wall 3 between which and the main wall 1 the bed of the the sameare a series of tiles or water conducting pipes 5 through which thewater of the stream at low tide or under ordinary circumstances isadapted to flow.

My improved bridge dam is intended to be applied to any stream which,during freshets or at high water is too deep to cross by fording. Bywidening the bed and banks of the stream at the point where the crossingis to be made and building across such widened portion of the bed myimproved dam, the stream when flooded or at a high water mark will bespread out across the widened portion of the bed and the stream and willflow over the dam at a comparatively shallow depth which will permit thestream to be safely forded by crossing over the dam.

Under normal conditions the stream will pass through the tiles or waterconducting pipes 5 which may be of any suitable size and numberaccording to the amount of water and the swiftness at which the sameflows. The tiles or pipes 5 will also assist in carrying the water pastthe dam during a freshet.

On Fig. 1 of the drawings the natural width of the bed or banks of thestream is indicated at small 6, while the widened portion thereof isshown at a. The natural width of the stream at the widened portion ofthe bed or banks is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the construction and operation of the invention will bereadily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. In a bridge dam a main concrete Wall adapted to be arranged acrossthe bed of a stream, a second Wall arranged above said main Wall wherebya space in the bed of the concrete is provided and adapted to be filledin to form a roadway and Water conducting pipes arranged through thedarn.

2. In a bridge dani a main concrete Wall arranged across the stream, asecond Wall arranged above said main Wall thereby forming a spaceadapted to" be filled in to provide a roadway, a series of Waterconducting pipes arranged through said dam, and a series of supportingposts arranged in the bed of the stream below the main Wall to form afoundation for the latter.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of tWosubscribing Witnesses. I

SAMUEL ARTHER VANCIL. Witnesses:

JAMES D. MATHENEY, SAMUEL A. W D.

